Bush Names Observers for Panama Election

Special to The New York Times

Published: May 6, 1989

WASHINGTON, May 5—
President Bush today appointed a 14-member delegation to observe the election in Panama on Sunday even though the Panamanian authorities warned that the observers would not be welcome.

The bipartisan delegation includes nine members of Congress and is headed by Representative John P. Murtha, Democrat of Pennsylvania.

''In sending this official delegation, the President affirms his strong belief that the election should be free and fair,'' said Marlin Fitzwater, the White House spokesman.

But Panamanian officials said they did not intend to cooperate. ''We are not going to receive any official delegation from the United States,'' said Soraya Cano, charge d'affaires at the Panamanian delegation to the Organization of American States.

''We have not received any requests from the U.S. Government asking us to receive an official delegation,'' she said. ''You can't just send a delegation without asking the host country. It's another example of U.S. efforts to intervene in the internal affairs of Panama.'' The observer team is scheduled to leave Washington on Saturday for Howard Air Base in Panama.